Northern Runway plans

This forward-looking plan also aims to use the airport's existing infrastructure to unlock new capacity and improve airport resilience, in line with government policy.

By investing in our long-term future, we will also enhance the crucial economic role we play, by creating around 14,000 new jobs and injecting £1 billion into the region's economy every year.

If approved, the £2.2 billion privately financed plan would be one of the largest capital investment projects in the region in decades. And it would help the airport meet future passenger demand by serving around 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s.

Submitting the planning application 

We submitted our Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on 6 July 2023 - outlining our ambitious plan to make best use of existing infrastructure by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use.  

Planning application accepted for examination

Our application was accepted for detailed examination by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) on 3 August 2023 and a period of detailed and rigorous examination of the proposals by a panel of independent experts will take place for approximately six months starting in February 2024.

Throughout the DCO planning process, all documents submitted by London Gatwick to the Planning Inspectorate will be publicly available at: infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Registering as an interested party

Ahead of the examination and up until November 19, the public - including residents in local communities and other stakeholders - were given the opportunity to register with the Planning Inspectorate to become an 'interested party'. Interested parties may have been asked to participate and provide their feedback on proposals during examination.

Details on how interested parties could register their interest in taking part in the examination stage were widely publicised.

Examination concluded

The Planning Inspectorate’s examination of London Gatwick’s Northern Runway plans concluded on August 27, 2024, following several years of consultation and a detailed six-month examination. The Government is expected to make a final decision on the proposal in early 2025.



In the summer of 2022, we ran a six-week consultation on updated road designs for our Northern Runway plans. We also asked for your views on our wider updated plans.

We identified three separate changes to the Project that would further minimise impacts on the environment and provide design flexibility.

Before submitting these changes to the Planning Inspectorate, we consulted the public, landowners and other stakeholders on the changes so that views were taken into account. It will be for the Planning Inspectorate to decide if these changes can be made to the application before it is accepted.

This leaflet explains more on our proposed changes.

More detailed information on the proposed changes can be found in the Notification of Proposed Project Changes report.

In the summer of 2024, London Gatwick opened a four-week consultation on a potential change to its Northern Runway plans, proposing an on-airport Wastewater Treatment Works facility.

Full details of the proposal can be found in the Second Notification of a Proposed Change report.

A summary of the proposed change can be found in the consultation leaflet.

We've created a Noise Contour Viewer to allow you to see the levels of aircraft noise in 2019 versus the expected ‘base case’ in the future

The Viewer also shows the location of the proposed noise insulation scheme. You can assess the nose of any location by using a relevant post code.

Chapter 14 of the northern runway project environmental statement provides the detailed assessment of noise impacts and explains the viewer noise metrics.